Al-Maarij

Al-Maʻārij (

• 1 A man demanded that the
  day of judgment
  might come at once
• 2-4 The day, whose space is fifty thousand years, will surely come
• 5-14 Muhammad to bear the insults of the infidels patiently, because judgment is near
• 12-18 Riches, children, and friends will not save the wicked from hell
• 19-24 The wicked are niggardly in health, but full of complaint when evil befalleth
• 25-35 The character of true
• 36-41 Unbelievers need entertain no hope they shall escape destruction
• 42-44 Muhammad counselled to permit the unbelieving Makkans to sport themselves, because their damnation is nigh [6]

Probable date of revelation

Regarding the period of revelation of this surah, first one notes that this surah is Meccan.

Sayyid Qutb an Egyptian author, educator and Islamic theorist in his magnum opus, Fi Zilal al-Quran (In the shade of the Qur'an), a 30-volume commentary on the Qur'an, summarizes the overview of surah Al-Ma'arij in these words: "We may say that this surah represents a round in the long, hard battle the Qur'an fights within the human soul, going deep inside it to eradicate all lingering traces of jahiliyyah. This battle is greater and longer lasting than the wars the Muslims later had to fight against their many enemies."^[23] He further elaborates:

The major issue the surah focuses on is that of the hereafter and peoples requital for what they do during their lives on earth, particularly the punishment suffered by the unbelievers. In order to establish the truth of the hereafter, the surah speaks of how the human soul reacts to situations of hardship and comfort. Such reactions differ greatly between a believer and one who is devoid of faith. The surah also provides an outline of the believers' main features, their feelings and behaviour, and it states how they deserve to be honoured. It also shows that the unbelievers are held in disregard by God, and gives a picture of the humiliation prepared for them. It is a humiliation the arrogant thoroughly deserve. Furthermore, the surah establishes the fact that values, standards and scales applied by God are different from those which human beings uphold. "

—

Fi Zilal al-Qur'an

The central theme of Surah Ma‘arij is to warn those among the Quraysh of their fate who are making fun of the consequences of denying the Inzar of the Qur’an about the Day of Judgement and are asking to hasten their advent, and to urge the Prophet (sws) to persevere in the cause of truth and to tell the unbelievers that Paradise is the reward of all good deeds; a person whose evil deeds outnumber his good ones even if he is from the high ups of the society shall never enter this everlasting kingdom.—Ghamidi[25]

The major scholars of Islam agree (

"The whole Surah is meant to answer this question saying: "Resurrection, which they desire to be hastened out of jest and fun, is terrible, and when it comes, it will cause great distress to the culprits. At that time they will even be prepared to give away their wives and children and their nearest kinfolks in ransom to escape the punishment, but they will not be able to escape it. On that Day, the destinies of mankind will be decided strictly on the basis of their belief and their conduct. Those who turn away from the Truth in this world, amass wealth and withhold it from the needy, will be doomed to hell; and those who fear the punishment of Allah, believe in the Hereafter, establish Salah (keep up the prayers), discharge the rights of the needy out of their wealth, strictly avoid immoral and wicked deeds, practise honesty in all their dealings, fulfill their pledges and trust and bear true witness, will have a place of honor in paradise" - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik^[28]

Contents

The Quranic text has been divided into separate

Another noticeable fact about this surah needs to be addressed that passage 70:29 to 70:32[32] is completely identical to the passage Al-Mu'minoon 23:5 to 23:8.^[33] About this presence of repetition^[34] Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown, acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming disorganization of Quranic literary expression – its scattered or fragmented mode of composition in Sells's phrase – is in fact a literary device capable of delivering profound effects as if the intensity of the prophetic message were shattering the vehicle of human language in which it was being communicated.^[35][36] Sells also addresses the much-discussed repetitiveness of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.

A text is self-referential when it speaks about itself and makes reference to itself. According to Stefan Wild, the Quran demonstrates this meta-textuality by explaining, classifying, interpreting and justifying the words to be transmitted. Self-referentiality is evident in those passages when the Quran refers to itself as revelation (tanzil), remembrance (dhikr), news (naba'), criterion (furqan) in a self-designating manner (explicitly asserting its Divinity, "And this is a blessed Remembrance that We have sent down; so are you now denying it?" (21:50), or in the frequent appearance of the 'Say' tags, when Muhammad is commanded to speak (e.g. "Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance' ", "Say: 'Would you then dispute with us concerning God?' "). To Wild, the Quran is highly self-referential. The feature is more evident in early Meccan chapters.^[37][38]

It admonishes and gives warning to the

Hereafter, and Hell and Heaven

, and challenged the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) to cause Resurrection with which he threatened them to take place if what he said was true and they had become worthy of the punishment in Hell by denying it. The whole Surah is meant to answer this denial.

The Surah opens with words to the effect: "A demander has demanded a torment, the torment which must befall the deniers; and when it takes place, there will be none to prevent it, but it will take place at its own appointed time. Allah has His own way of doing things, but He is not unjust. Therefore, have patience, O Prophet, at what they say. They think it is far off, but We see it as near at hand."

Then it is said:"Resurrection, which they desire to be hastened out of jest and fun, is terrible, and when it comes, it will cause great distress to the culprits. At that time they will even be prepared to give away their wives and children and their nearest kinsfolk in ransom to escape the punishment, but they will not be able to escape it.

Then the people have been warned to the effect; "On that Day the destinies of men will be decided strictly on the basis of their belief and their conduct. Those who turn away from the Truth in the world and amass wealth and withhold it from the needy, will be doomed to Hell; and those who fear the punishment of God here, believe in the Hereafter, keep up the Prayer, discharge the rights of the needy out of their wealth, strictly avoid immoral and wicked deeds, practice honesty in all their dealings, fulfill their pledges and trust and bear true witness, will have a place of honor in Paradise"

In conclusion, the disbelievers of

Makkah who rushed in upon the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) from every side as soon as they saw him, in order to make fun of him, have been warned to the effect: "If you do not believe, Allah will replace you by other people who will be better than you", and the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has been consoled, so as to say: "Do not take to heart their mockery and jesting; leave them to indulge in their idle talk and foolish conduct if they are bent upon experiencing the disgrace and humiliation of the Resurrection; they will themselves see their evil end."'—Abul A'la Maududi, Tafhim-ul-Quran^[42]